IARRT Newsletter 2003
The International Association for Regression Research
and Therapies, Inc.
Formerly: The Association for Past Life Research and Therapies, Inc.
PO Box 20l5l, Riverside,CA 92516 Telephone: 951-784-1570 Fax: 909-784-8440
E-mail: info@iarrt.org Web site: www.IARRT.org
November 2003
The President's Message - Where We Are Going
In past issues I have addressed two issues, “Who We Are”
and “What We Do.” In this issue I would like to address
“Where We Are Going.” First, as individuals, then as a group.
As individuals let’s go back a few years to an example of a client’s
initial phone call. In desperation the client eventually said, “You’re
my last hope. I’ve tried every other kind of therapy and no one
has been able to help me.” And then in a quiet voice, “Maybe
my problem does come from a past-life!”
Interestingly enough maybe (s) he had seen too many therapists or the
pain level had reached the point where it could no longer be suppressed,
(the reasons are numerous), but following several sessions with you
the depression or desperation level wasn’t as great. A smile started
to appear and conversation started to take place rather than despair.
All you did was sit in your office, listen, ask the right questions,
and give instructions to the “other” mind to go to the cause
of this problem regardless of origin [first in this life (trigger),
then to a past life (cause)]. In most cases you empowered the soul of
your client to seek, discover, and explore himself or herself. In other
words you did what you did because of who you are - a Regression Therapist.
So where are you going? Nowhere and everywhere. Sit tight.
The world of therapy has, is, and will continually evolve. In less
then ten years, we have graduated from the bottom of the list of therapies
available today. We may not yet be the primary choice but we are climbing
rapidly to the main stream.
Sit there. Let YOUR world know you are sitting there. Don’t be
afraid anymore of the words “Past Life” or “Regression
Therapy.” Don’t be afraid to state it out loud. It is honored
and respected. If you continue to evolve in honoring and respecting
your profession by openly stating it in print, in word, in behavior,
then the client will find you.
Collectively we must move forward in the areas of Education, Research,
and Communication. Our IARRT Education Program continues to evolve.
From respondents we find enthusiasm and empowerment. To the beginner
the teachings give the method(s) and the application. To the practiced
professional it gives the credibility and the integrity of the process.
Our Continuing Education Classes add refinement and specialization to
specific issues and “How to” for the implementation of Regression
Therapy. The Board and the Education Committee continually work on the
quality and the substance to keep it constant and consistent
It is surprising how much research is being done quietly. We are slowly
moving it to be just a little louder. It still remains a work in progress.
Case Studies are now posted on the website. Instructions as to putting
yours on the website will be coming soon. If you wish to post to our
IARRT website regarding case studies please contact Christine Bartlett,
Membership Chair, through www.IARRT.org.
Communication, this takes on many forms of which “reaching out”
is just one. Earlier in the year at the World Congress in Holland a
call was put forward to unite every nation in an informational linkage
to support each other and the work of Regression Therapy. The call was
heard. Committees are being formed and perhaps someday soon there will
be a common linkage to conferences, educational needs, and a sharing
of research throughout the world. The World Congress brought together
from many Countries various applications of Regression Therapy. This
opportunity created many conversations and we discovered that we do
speak a universal language when it comes to what we do. (Elsewhere in
this issue are articles regarding the World Conference.) We promised
to gather as a professional community again and again. The next World
Congress will be held in Brazil, 2006. Go to www.regressioncongress.com
and check it out. In each of our own Countries we are “reaching
out” to inform and educate about who we are and what we are about.
People are listening.
If you actively sit still and do as suggested above by taking pride
in who you are, and what you do for the client, the world will find
you.
So where are we going? The future of Regression Therapy lies in our
hands collectively. Each of us must do our part. We must have faith
in the leaders we select to create training modules. We must have enthusiasm
every single day for the break through that awaken us then in turn,
awaken the client. We must empower and give encouragement to the beginner.
None of you reading this grew up wanting to be a Regression Therapist.
Most of us came in a side door, back door or possibly a trap door. Our
souls guided us into a “new” therapeutic modality that “collectively”
would assist in healing deep levels of consciousness in humanity. As
pioneers in this field, you can take pride in this fact…and recognize
what a humbling and rewarding profession that you are in.
Jeffrey J. Ryan, MA, CRT
President & Financial Chair
Board of Directors, IARRT
ARTICLES:
MEMORIES FROM THE WORLD CONGRESS IN THE 1ST PERSON
By Rick Lindal, Psychologist, B.Sc., MA., Ph.D.
Good, I’ve made it, I thought to myself, as I stepped off the
train at ‘Rotterdam Central’ on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
The train ride from Amsterdam Airport through lush country side with
farmers’ fields divided into sections by ditches filled with water,
rather than barbwire, had caught my attention: Water is employed in
this natural way as barriers to keep cattle, horses, and sheep, in their
respective fields. I supposed the livestock never bothered to venture
across these ditches, as the grass was green on both sides. Competition
for ‘greener pastures’ in this land seemed more distant
than I am accustomed to, coming from Canada.
Marion Boon, the ever-pleasant and tireless organizer of the Congress,
and her partner Wilhelm, picked me up from the train station, and explained
to me that the attitude of cooperation, rather than competition, is
a salient character of the people in the Netherlands. They told me a
little about the country’s history and explained how the dikes
prevented the North Sea from flooding the country, and that in some
areas houses were built 8 meters (26 feet) below sea level. I, of course,
asked where the little boy with the finger in dike was standing. Wilhelm
used the opportunity to explain that Netherlanders don’t have
heroes, and that the story of the little boy was a myth created by North
Americans, in order to satisfy their need for ‘hero-worship’.
The true story was as follows: Once upon a time, there was a village
of people who had to work together in order to maintain their dikes
from leaking. There was, however, one rich landowner who didn’t
feel like helping out communally, preferring rather to construct a mount
in the village on which to build his house, assuming it would be safe
from the sea if the dikes would flood. But one day the sea did rise
and the dikes did flood, and drowned the village in water, including
his house on the mount. The moral of the story for the Netherlanders
is that each person’s effort should be valued equally, rather
than the worship of one person, as a hero.
As we drove towards the hotel, I noticed how the houses had steep tiled
roofs and large picture windows for looking into the gardens that were
meticulously manicured with shrubs flowers, and potted plants. The driveways,
as well as many streets, had inlaid bricks, designed in various patterns
and in different colors.
I had noticed black bicycles lined in the hundreds outside the train
station as I arrived, and I soon discovered that there were bicycle
paths along all the roads with hordes of people cycling along the paths,
going about their daily business. None of them had helmets on their
heads, and many were ferrying their young, sometimes one in a basket
over the front handlebars and another behind the bicycle seat. I thought
to myself, oh my, in Canada they would all be given citations for riding
their bicycles without adorning a helmet; less they were to fall off
their bicycle and cause themselves a brain injury and a costly insurance
claim against the city. I saw a scooter approach, and I mused to myself
that the driver had a helmet and what a good thing that was. But as
he drove by, I noticed that he had his little Jack Russell sitting in
his lap, without a seatbelt! What freedom I thought: I love the Netherlands.
The hotel in which the Congress was held, was located in a lovely setting
near the North Sea, with wooded paths and birds singing many beautiful
melodies, and frogs croaking in a pond at a tempo that brought this
oasis into full orchestral splendor. During the night we were entertained
by roosters that lived nearby, who I discovered do not only crow at
dawn, but also whenever their little hearts feel the urge. Hotel Olaertsduyn
was decorated in a post-modern theme and sported an exceptionally friendly
staff, as well as the best food I have ever had at a congress: The vegetarian
dishes were especially delicious.
I had arrived early for the 3-day pre-conference workshop with Dr.
Morris Netherton. The workshop focused on working with the soul, the
body, and cell memories, often using breath-work for bringing back to
consciousness memories from childhood, prenatal periods, and past-lives.
Dr. Netherton’s view of how trauma is reactivated in the fetus,
through its mother, and brought forward into the individual’s
incarnation, I found especially intriguing. I enjoyed the workshop and
look forward to practice some of the techniques in my practice.
By Thursday evening the Congress participants began to arrive; representing
19 countries in all. It was such a joy seeing friends and faces I recognized
from the past (in this life-time). And during the course of the Congress,
there emerged a feeling for me, that all belonged to a large extended
family and that we were kindred spirits united in the common goal of
bringing knowledge of the soul’s continuity through incarnations.
There were many workshops to choose from and I wished I could have
attended them all. I went to Dr. Andy Tomlinson’s workshop on
‘Motor Sensory Psychotherapy and PTSD’. His workshop emphasized
the importance of body movement in the releasing of body memories and
the restoration of the flow of blocked energy. This workshop highlighted
for me the importance of body memory, and also, much to my surprise,
how poor my vocabulary is for articulating body sensations: I have much
to learn!
Dr. Jan Erick’s workshop on ‘Emotion and Emotional Releasement’
was also interesting, especially his practice of asking the client to
seek assistance from their personal ‘guide’, and his imagery
of ‘fire’ as a transformational symbol to assist the client
in ridding themselves of negative feelings.
Past-life therapists do not need to be convinced that memories of past
lives are absolutely authentic when they are relived by their clients
during regressions: We know that the soul brings with it memories of
past lives, placing them into a genetically unrelated body, often along
with body marks from past traumas, such as birthmarks and scars. Dr.
Julio Perez and Mario Simoes, in their workshop, shed further evidence
of the apparent authenticity of these memories when viewed from a neurophysiological
perspective. They demonstrated compelling evidence that their client’s
memory of past-life traumas have the same neurophysiological substrates
as traumatic memories, incurred in their present lifetime. Their work
is pioneering and they acknowledged that it needs to be replicated with
a larger sample size. Dr. Walter Semkiw in this workshop titled: ‘The
Case for Reincarnation and Soul Groups Reunited’, reviewed previously
published accounts, as well as new evidence from his own research, that
suggests that the soul has the ability to alter genetics, as reflected
in facial morphology and character, to resemble the soul’s previous
incarnation. To summarize, these observations do suggest, that the soul
not only reincarnates with memories and authentic neurophysiological
correlates, but also with body memories depicted by birth marks and
scars, as well a facial features and personality characteristics, similar,
from one incarnation to the next.
I also attended a very interesting panel discussion on ‘Regression
Therapy and Spirituality’ with Dr’s. Janet Cunningham, Marion
Boon, Joe Costa, and Adreas Gosztonyi. These therapists represented
divergent views of how to construe spirituality in regression; one school
of thought recognized the existence of entities, obsessors, and pseudo-obsessors,
whereas another prefers to articulate these phenomena more parsimoniously,
as unresolved issues that have their origin in the client’s history.
Another school of thought seeks to employ the assistance of guides,
angels, or religious figures, in order to resolve the problems the individual
finds himself burdened with while incarnated. All panelists agreed on
the concept of karma and the soul’s ‘victim / victimizer’
cycle through successive incarnations, gradually drifting towards a
peaceful resolution of understand and harmony.
During the Congress, Dr. Hans ten Dam and his many, volunteers kept
us alert with the planning of social events, impromptu interludes, and
surprise happenings. There was, for example, dancing to live folk music;
Beatrice Penn, one of the therapists attending the Congress, sang jazz
with lyrics that spoke poignantly to past-lives; Witches appeared in
droves during evening dinner, reciting limericks, stirring witches brew,
and presented Hans with a broom; Beautiful crystals appeared on our
pillow one evening (complements of participants from India). And morning
activities included meditations, tree hugging, Tai-Chi, and other activities.
The Midsummer Night Solstice that occurred, serendipitously, during
the Congress, was celebrated in style. We walked through woods with
flaming torches, arriving at the gardens of a mansion, where we were
entertained with ‘belly-dancing’, singing, and classical
music, until midnight. At the stroke of midnight, medieval chants were
heard through the darkness, across the pond, where a quartet sang by
candlelight. A moving experience indeed.
Various new books were on sale during the Congress. I picked up Hans
ten Dam’s revised book: “Exploring Reincarnation”
(2003), and Walter Semkiw’s book: “Return of the Revolutionaries”
(2003), as well as many
Other previously published works. Congress members were also given a
free copy of Bert Esser’s “World History for Past-Life Therapists”
(2003), which is a useful book to have, as well as Pieter Wierenga’s
book on the devil; Stemmen Uit De Schaduw; Beschouwingen van Duivels
over het Menselijke Ras (Voices From the Shadow: Reflections from Devils
About the Human Race), an interesting book, written by a past-life therapist.
Hopefully it will be available in English, soon.
The Congress was a wonderful and fascinating experience for me. I wish
I could have attended all the workshops; perhaps in my next incarnation
I will incarnate simultaneously as split souls, where multiples of myself
can attend all the workshops simultaneously! The field of past-life
therapy and research has taken great strides in the past 40 years, but
there is still a long way to go and many discoveries to be made. It
is truly exciting to be alive in these times, and I am looking forward
to the next World Congress, in Brazil 2006. I thank you Hans, Karen,
Marion, Carolyn, and everyone who made this First World Congress such
a wonderful event. It took teamwork in the best spirit of what it means
to be a Netherlander: You are all heroes to my North American frame
of mind!
Rick Lindal, Psychologist
Dr. Rick Lindal is Icelandic and living in Toronto, Canada. He completed
a B.Sc. and a M.A. degree, and a Ph.D. degree in Psychology, while studying
in Canada and in England during the 1970’s and early 1980’s.
He is currently in private practice. l
Article Two
This past summer I returned with vigor from the World Congress on
Past Life and Regression Therapy in The Netherlands. I had decided to
make the congress a priority as I knew it would be a gathering of many
trailblazers in the field. It was impossible to leave without a growing
sense of excitement and enthusiasm for this profession, which is undoubtedly
on the forefront of thorough and effective healing modalities. To me,
it felt more close-knit than a family reunion, despite the divides of
distance and cultures, and the fact that we were mostly strangers. Even
in the instances where language was limited, we each shared a common
passion and understanding that transcended words. It was understood
among us all that the eagerness and zeal for this work was a priority
that was driving each one of us. Therefore, wherever one turned during
the three day congress, a warm and interesting conversation easily flowed
between attendees. I made many friends, exchanged plenty of addresses,
and generated many new ideas for my practice. Each workshop I attended
was inspirational and educational. Becoming aware of the practice of
past life and regression therapy among therapists of varied nations
helped to inspire confidence in the spreading of these effective techniques,
as well as the elevation of the planet’s mass consciousness. It
felt like history in the making as we sat together, all feeling as pioneers
representing part of the cutting edge of healing modalities for each
of our respective nations. I’m already looking forward to going
to Brazil in 2006.
-- Eric Christopher
Regression Therapist’s Reflection on IARRT Training
My journey through IARRT’s training began only three years ago.
I had just graduated from a Marriage and Family Therapy program. I didn’t
have to be highly intuitive to notice how interested and enthusiastic
I became while reading about the effectiveness of therapies that utilized
the deeper levels of consciousness within a client. The first levels
of IARRT’s training were indeed fascinating, yet challenging.
It took practice both as a client and therapist before I began to feel
comfortable with the Past Life Therapy process. Initially, it wasn’t
quite like all of the quick, smooth and powerful examples of PLT I had
read about in so many books. However, Jeff’s advice in the level
two training echoed in my ears: “Get out of the way!” Soon
I discovered that with continued effort, I was able to successfully
get my left brain out of the way of the process both as a client and,
when necessary, as a therapist. Just as with learning to drive a stick-shift
car, it felt awkward at first, yet I soon became increasingly comfortable
with it after each session. Likewise, after each consecutive training,
I felt as if I leaped forward another level both personally and professionally.
As I confronted my own personal issues and fears during the practice
sessions in each IARRT training, I began to experience first-hand the
type of fast and effective resolutions I had read about earlier. After
each training, I bounded home with renewed confidence and enthusiasm
as a therapist. However, I noticed that this inspiration soon faded
unless I practiced my newly learned skills. So I put PLT to use with
friends and colleagues at first, then with clients. Today I have a private
practice using mostly past life and regression therapy techniques. As
I compare it to the talk therapy I used to do, I can’t imagine
working any other way. Rarely do I ever have a client that does not
experience solid benefits from PLT. As a therapist, it continues to
feel as if I grow in ability and confidence with every session. Now
I think of my job as more than a job – it feels closer to a mission.
Besides alleviating symptoms, I’m raising the awareness of people.
By helping them realize they are far more than they think they are --
far more than their bodies and the self-limiting thoughts of their ego
personality, they begin to expand the awareness of their True Selves
as complex beings of energy and consciousness that always are safe,
whole and indestructible. These thoughts, in turn, raise the level of
mass consciousness. Now for my practice, I simply advertise and tell
the universe to please send me more clients. It works. How can the universe
not conspire with you on such a mission? My advice to any trainee who
tentatively takes the steps toward actively using PLT is to face and
deal with your fears and discomforts, then watch them dissolve, and
notice how much more confident and energetic you feel as you benefit
an increasing number of clients.
Eric Christopher
